Curable materials such as sealants, caulking and adhesives are generally distributed in and dispensed from cylindrical or otherwise shaped material dispensers having tapered nozzles which are initially closed and sealed. The ends of these nozzles must be opened prior to any product being dispensed from the material dispensers.
The ends of such dispensing nozzles are often cut with general purpose cutting tools such as knives or scissors. Use of such tools to cut the end of a nozzle can be imprecise and inconvenient. Also, use of such tools can be hazardous as the blades are generally unprotected.
There exist a variety of dedicated tools for use in cutting the nozzles of dispensers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,418,785 to Whitemiller et al. describes a compact dispensing tube opener for accessing contents of a dispensing tube having a dispensing tip and an inner seal. A cutting utility is mounted for linear movement in a passageway of the housing and engaged by movement of a user to cut a dispensing tip. The cutting end is not protected while passing through the passageway as it must cut through the object, a dispensing tip, in the passageway. This unprotected cutting end could pose a hazard to users.
Other examples of cutting tools include:    U.S. Pat. No. 7,308,897;    U.S. Pat. No. 6,056,156;    U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,005;    U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,568;    U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,925;    U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,931;    U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,607;    U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,616;    U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,437;    U.S. Pat. No. 4,328,910;    U.K. Patent Application Publication No. GB 2 457 346; and,    PCT Patent Application Publication No. WO 2008/022143.
The inventor has determined a need for improved cutting tools wherein the blade is protected.